Saul "Canelo" Alvarez is scheduled to face James Kirkland on May 16 in Houston, but the former world champion is also looking forward to bigger bouts after his next fight.

Alvarez, who holds an impressive 44-1-1 record with 31 knockouts, said that it will be an honor to face Manny Pacquiao, who he is looking up to as one of the best boxers of all time.

"It would be an honor to fight Pacquiao with all due respect," Alvarez told Esnews via Tha Boxing Voice. "It would be an honor to fight a legend like him."

Alvarez said that Pacquiao is not as fast and as explosive as he was several years ago, but is still one of the best fighters and will be a difficult opponent for him because of the Filipino boxing icon's vast experience.

"Pacquiao has fought the best, the best in the world," Alvarez added. "He's at the end of his career, but he still continues to be a great fighter with experience."

In order to get a shot at Pacquiao, Alvarez knows he needs to score a convincing win against Kirkland in their upcoming showdown. However, weight disparity could be an issue as well because the Mexican boxing superstar is reportedly planning to move up to 160 pounds in his next fight, while Pacquiao is thinking of moving down to 140.

Pacquiao, who is the reigning World Boxing Organization welterweight champion, is scheduled to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas.

Alvarez will be an interested spectator on fight night as he is also eyeing a rematch with Mayweather. The reigning pound-for-pound king scored a majority decision win against Alvarez during their world welterweight title fight in September 2013, which drew around 2.2 million pay-per-view buys.

When asked to give his take on the upcoming Pacquiao-Mayweather fight, Alvarez sees a close fight, but he is unsure if the highly anticipated showdown will live up to expectations.

Canelo said Mayweather has the ability to control the tempo of the match and turn it into a boring encounter, but he is hoping Pacquiao will manage make the fight exciting with his aggressiveness.

"He does not expose anything. In the past, he's thrown very few shots and makes things difficult," Alvarez said of Mayweather. "If he exposes himself just a little bit more, we can get an enjoyable fight. Pacquiao comes forward and he's always throwing a lot of punches, and he's fast. He can complicate things with his movement."

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